Venomin James
Venomin James are a doom/heavy metal band originating from Kirtland, Ohio. Forming in the fall of 2005, the band quickly gained a following within Cleveland's metal scene with their 2007 debut Left Hand Man. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years the band has four studio albums to date along with a host of other releases, in between touring and personal turmoils. The band was notable for releasing all of their material through either Kultland Recordings (their own personal label) or Auburn Records (Owned by Bill Peters, a close friend of the band). Venomin James only toured sporadically in their career but was often a support for touring acts in the northern Ohio area, sharing the stage with the likes of Karma To Burn, Kadavar, Mothership, Saint Vitus, Pallbearer, Trouble, Yob, Unearthly Trance, Abdullah, Red Giant, Lo-Pan, Fu Manchu and Truckfighters to scratch the surface. History Feed The Flames: Left Hand Man (2005 – 2007) Venomin James was formed in the Fall 2005 with Tomasz Scull, Erin Corcoran, and Joe Fortunato beginning to write songs while actively searching for a drummer and vocalist to complete the lineup. This core trio recorded a series of demos with Night Sweats/Living Stereo/Sidecar frontman Brandon Abate (Night Sweats, Living Ster on drums, to hand out to prospective members. Early in 2006 vocalist Jim Meador was added to the lineup, and the band began playing Cleveland area shows with Abate filling in on drums. Drummer Jared Koston was recruited in June 2006 and the band played a number of live dates to hone and complete their material. The band recorded their first full-length album Left Hand Man throughout late 2006 and 2007, released on Kultland Recordings on 18 September 2007. Mastering was handled by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Converge, Misfits) of West West Side Music in New Jersey. The album garnered the band some attention among the underground doom, metal, and stoner rock scenes,Noktornhellride Music ForumsDoomGrindThe Ripple EffectmMtal Maniacs as well as radio play from local KROQ-FM affiliate 92.3. College radio picked up on the band's retro/doom/metal sound, and college stations across the country began playing the album. Local college radio personality, and creator of the respected "Metal On Metal" show, Bill Peters of WJCU 88.7FM,Cleveland Scene Magazine} began playing the album on his show, starting a friendship with the band for the years to come. The band would also attain an association with Auburn Records (Peters' label.) Dire Days: Crowe Valley Blues and Jared Coston's Death (2007 – 2010) Immediately after the release of Left Hand Man, the band finished writing and recording the follow-up album, Crowe Valley Blues. In the fall of 2008 local Parma, Ohio businessman and club owner, Phil Lara, promised financial backing for tour support and the recording and release of Crowe Valley Blues. When this deal fell through in a Cleveland scene-wide scandal, the release of Crowe Valley Blues was put on hold indefinitely.Cleveland Scene MagazineCleveland Scene magazine With Lara's deal broken, the band was unable to fund the mastering of the album, working again with Alan Douches. At this point, Bill Peters stepped in, and offered to release Crowe Valley Blues on Auburn Records. Peters financed the mastering and manufacturing of the album, and secured worldwide distribution. Crowe Valley Blues was released in Europe in July 2010, with a US release following on 14 September 2010. The Auburn release of Crowe Valley Blues included the Death's Wings EP as a bonus, containing remixes, demos, and outtakes from Left Hand Man-era sessions, as a thanks to fans who had patiently waited for the album's release. Videos were filmed for the singles "Cosmonaut" and "Make No Mistake". Reviews for the album would be fairly positive.Doom MantiaSpirit Tribe Crowe Valley Blues would make Apple iTunes' "Best Metal Albums" of 2010 and the band would also be named among the "Best New Metal Artists" of 2010. However, the time surrounding the release was not without it's tragedies. Early in 2005, Koston was diagnosed with Stage III Melanoma, which was removed from his left shoulder. A small tumor returned in 2008, and Koston again underwent surgery. In the spring of 2009, Koston again noticed a growth in his left shoulder, this time diagnosed with Stage IV Cancer stemming from Melanoma. The previous surgeries had not been successful in removing all the cancerous cells. From the summer of 2009 until late spring of 2010, Koston received chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy. Early in 2010, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to his liver, bones, and into his brain. Members of the metal communities rallied to help with Koston's medical costs and gave support. Sadly, Jared Koston would succumb to his illness and pass away on 1 June 2010. Seven Years: Unholy Mountain (2010 - 2013) Following the death of drummer Jared Koston, the band recruited original Brandon Abate to drum for a few live shows to support the release of Crowe Valley Blues. In October 2010, the band was approached by drummer Eric Matthews (Pro-Pain, Red Giant) to become Venomin James' touring/live drummer. Throughout the end of 2010, and into 2011, the band played a series of shows with Matthews to support Crowe Valley Blues and even make an appearance at the 2011 edition of Wacken Open Air. Venomin James performed on 6 August 2011 as a direct W.E.T. Stage support to Swedish band Ghost to a crowd of 8,500 attendees. Beginning in the summer of 2010, the band sifted through all the demo recording sessions for their third album, Unholy Mountain. Through this process, the band determined that the audio fidelity of the multitracked drums would allow for the last recorded performances of former drummer Jared Koston to be used in the creation of the new album. The band commenced recording throughout the end of 2010 and well into early 2012. Unholy Mountain was originally scheduled for release via Auburn Records sometime in Q3 of 2013, but funding was lost and the album was put on hold. The album features collaborations with several notable Cleveland-area musicians, including James Bulloch (Ringworm), Damien Perry (Red Giant, The Great Iron Snake) and Gary Kane (Forged In Flame). In December 2012, Venomin James parted ways with founding vocalist, Jim Meador. The band stated that they wanted a change in vocal direction, and would continue writing material for an unnamed 4th release.Venomin James Official On 23 July 2013, the band released a new single, "Sailor's Grave", featuring new vocalist Mike Martini.Blabbermouth Some months later on 13 December 2013, the band released another single, "33rd Degree" to all digital outlets./ Venomin James ITunes Ghost of Yesterday: Wake The Dead and Unholy Mountain (2013 - 2017) Venomin James would release their third album Wake The Dead digitally via BandCamp on 18 November 2014. The album also became available via major digital outlets like Apple's iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music on 17 February 2015. All previous digital singles from 2013 were remixed and new tracks "Wake the Dead", "Slow Decay", and "Ghosts of Yesterday" were added. The BandCamp version includes the original 2013 single mixes as bonus tracks. A physical release would be available on 21 December 2015. The band also notably performed their last show to that point at the Agora in Cleveland on 22 June 2015 with Lord Dying and Crowbar.Facebook Event The band announced in early 2014 that plans were underway to finally release Unholy Mountain as a deluxe 2-CD edition: First disc containing the original mixes with former vocalist Jim Meador, and a second disc containing instrumental mixes, similar to what Mastodon had done with the score version of "Crack The Skye". The album was finally released on 14 July 2017 via the bands own label on a single disc with bonus tracks, as well as being distributed through most major online music services. Discography Studio Albums *'Left Hand Man' (2007, Kultland) *'Crowe Valley Blues' (2010, Auburn) *'Wake The Dead' (2014, Auburn) *'Unholy Mountain' (2017, Kultland) Other Releases *'Summer of Horror' (EP) (2006, Kultland) *'Unholy Mountain' (Single) (2012, Kultland) *'Sailor's Grave' (Single) (2013, Auburn) *'UHM Zero Day EP II' (EP) (2013, Kultland) *'33rd Degree' (Single) (2013, Kultland) Members Current Lineup *'Erin Corcoran' - Bass (2005 - Present) *'Tomasz Scull' - Guitar (2005 - Present) *'Joe Fortunato' - Guitar (2005 - Present) *'Mike Martini' - Vocals (2013 - Present) *'Eric Matthews' - Drums (2010 - Present) Past Members *'Brandon Abate' - Drums (2005 - 2006, 2010) *'Jared Koston' - Drums (2006 - 2010) (Died 2010) *'Jim Meador' - Vocals (2006 - 2012) External Links *Myspace *Bandcamp References Category:Band Category:Kirtland Category:Ohio Category:USA Category:Doom Metal Category:Heavy Metal Category:Stoner Metal Category:Cleveland